A selection of the best news pictures from around the world in the past 24 hours.

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A photo made with a tilt-shift lens shows performers in traditional lion costume posing for photographers on the eve of the New Year of the Snake at a park in Beijing (EPA)

A photo made with a tilt-shift lens shows performers in traditional lion costume posing for photographers on the eve of the New Year of the Snake at a park in Beijing (EPA)

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A members of the samba school Vai-Vai special group takes part in a carnival parade at the in Sao Paulo, Brazil (EPA)

A members of the samba school Vai-Vai special group takes part in a carnival parade at the in Sao Paulo, Brazil (EPA)

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Mariya Kawae, 30, holds a piece of chocolate made in the shape of her face at a workshop ahead of Valentine's Day in Tokyo (Reuters)

Mariya Kawae, 30, holds a piece of chocolate made in the shape of her face at a workshop ahead of Valentine's Day in Tokyo (Reuters)

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Italian fans dressed in kilts arrive before the RBS Six Nations match between Scotland and Italy at Murrayfield Stadium (Getty)

Italian fans dressed in kilts arrive before the RBS Six Nations match between Scotland and Italy at Murrayfield Stadium (Getty)

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Indian devotees wait for day break to take a holy dip at Sangam in India (AP)

Indian devotees wait for day break to take a holy dip at Sangam, the confluence of the Rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati, for Maha Kumbh festival, in Allahabad, India , Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013. Millions of Hindu pilgrims are attending the Maha Kumbh festival, and over 25 million are expected to take a holy dip at Sangam on Sunday, Feb. 10, on the greatly auspicious occasion of 'Mauni Amavasya". (AP Photo /Rajesh Kumar Singh)

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NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 09: A dog is walked in Prospect Park in Brooklyn the morning after a massive snow storm on February 9, 2013 in New York City. New Yorkers woke up to over 10 inches of snow Saturday morning while parts of New England received over thirty inches following a storm that brought high winds and blizzard like conditions to the region. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

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A Bahraini girl holds up a picture of her relative detainee during an anti-government rally in the village of Al Muqsha (AFP/Getty)

A Bahraini girl holds up a picture of her relative detainee during an anti-government rally in the village of Al Muqsha (AFP/Getty)

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Fireworks illuminate the skyline to celebrate Chinese Lunar New Year of Snake (Getty)

Fireworks illuminate the skyline to celebrate Chinese Lunar New Year of Snake (Getty)